Scottish Executive

Adoption

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage more families to consider adoption given the slight fall in the number of adoption applications identified in Adoption Applications in Scotland 2000 .

Mr Jack McConnell: The reduction in adoption applications has been a statistical trend now for around 10 years. To tackle this and other concerns, I established an Adoption Policy Review earlier this year and it started work earlier this month. It will aim to modernise the system, strengthen adoption as a choice for young people in the care system and improve recruitment and selection procedures.

Agriculture

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to increase the production of raspberries to ensure that any marketing opportunities which exist can be utilised to the greatest extent possible.

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it will take to ensure the survival of the berry industry in the light of any reduction in payments to growers from Scottish Soft Fruit Growers Ltd for last year’s crop.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to answer given to question S1W-15781 on 22 May 2001.

Drug Misuse

Elaine Thomson (Aberdeen North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to tackle the use of illegal drugs in the north-east of Scotland.

Iain Gray: Local action on drug misuse is a matter for DATs and their constituent agencies.

  The Executive has allocated substantial funding to the north-east of Scotland over the next three years to deal with the problems. National targets have been set to monitor performance. I have arranged for the member to receive details of the funding available in the north-east.

Environment

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to the work of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Dounreay Particles Advisory Group, (a) where samples of suspected irradiated particles removed from Dounreay beach are sent for analysis, (b) how many samples have been analysed since directions were issued, (c) how many samples are currently awaiting analysis, (d) how many samples to date have contained irradiated particles and at what level, (e) how any irradiated particles will be disposed of, (f) what the anticipated costs of analysis and final disposal are to the Scottish Executive and SEPA and (g) whether any of these costs will be recovered from other sources.

Rhona Brankin: The number and level of irradiated particles found and removed from the beach at Sandside Bay near Dounreay are listed in the interim Dounreay Particles Advisory Group report. This is available on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) website at the following address:

  http://www.sepa.org.uk/regs_licence/radioactivity/dpag/dpaghome.htm

  The other questions raised are matters for SEPA and the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The information requested is not held centrally.

Epilepsy

Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to tackle regional variations in access to epilepsy diagnosis and services across Scotland as highlighted in the report by Epilepsy Action Scotland, Patterns of Epilepsy Service in Scotland .

Susan Deacon: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change promises that the Scottish Executive and the NHS will work closely with patient support groups to ensure that the needs of those with chronic enduring conditions such as epilepsy are met. I have asked the Chief Medical Officer to consider the best means of implementing this commitment.

  Epilepsy Action Scotland has already signalled its willingness to help in the development of managed clinical networks, which will certainly play a part in the process of ensuring greater equity of services in the future.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the First Minister how the tourism industry is overcoming the adverse effects of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

Henry McLeish: Tourism businesses have already received substantial aid from the £13.5 million package of emergency relief announced on 28 March, and the additional £5 million made available to Scottish Enterprise Dumfries and Galloway on 10 May.

  Executive officials are now discussing with interested parties strategies for addressing the medium and longer-term effects on tourism.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive at what time and on what date it was informed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the first cases of foot-and-mouth disease in England.

Ross Finnie: A member of the State Veterinary Service informed the Scottish Executive of the first confirmed case of foot-and-mouth disease in England at approximately 9pm on the evening of 20 February 2001.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all possible action is being taken to prevent imported meat products infected with the foot-and-mouth virus entering the food chain.

Ross Finnie: I refer the member to the answer given to question S1W-15399 on 10 May 2001.

  We have now introduced amendments to our import controls which will facilitate the seizure of products where there is suspicion that they do not meet our import requirements.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been counting adjacent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease as single outbreaks.

Ross Finnie: Each infected premises is counted as a single case for counting purposes.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) sheep, (b) cattle and (c) other animals have been slaughtered in the Dumfries and Galloway area because premises were, or were suspected of being, infected with the foot-and-mouth virus, up to and including 15 May 2001.

Ross Finnie: The table shows the number of animals slaughtered. It should be noted that confirmed cases and slaughter on suspicion cases are regarded as "infected with" whereas dangerous contact cases are regarded as "exposed to".

  Number of Animals Slaughtered

  


 


Sheep 
  

Cattle 
  

Others 
  

Total 
  



Confirmed Cases 
  

85,091 
  

32,914 
  

59 
  

118,377 
  



Dangerous Contact Cases 
  

39,074 
  

18,454 
  

20 
  

59,804 
  



Slaughter on Suspicion Cases 
  

15,080 
  

2,188 
  

30 
  

17,298 
  



Total 
  

139,245 
  

53,556 
  

109 
  

195,479

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-15179 and S1W-15270 by Ross Finnie on 19 April 2001 and 8 May 2001 respectively, why it will not publish a list of the premises which have had stock slaughtered on the basis that they were contiguous with infected premises and whether it will now name the 661 farms in Dumfries and Galloway where animals have been slaughtered on this basis.

Ross Finnie: In the interests of disease control, the details of infected premises and the 3km rings extending around them have been published. There is no disease control justification to publish the names of contiguous premises and, in order to respect the privacy and commercial confidentiality of the farms concerned, the Executive does not intend to publish these details. Farmers have been informed where contiguity to infected premises contributes to the decision to cull their animals.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-15180 by Ross Finnie on 19 April 2001, whether it will name the 160 farms in Dumfries and Galloway on which stock has been slaughtered because they had been classified as having dangerous contacts with farms which were infected or suspected to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease.

Ross Finnie: I do not intend to publish the names of farms classified as "dangerous contacts" in order to respect the privacy and confidentiality of the farms concerned.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its response is to the article entitled "Scottish cull for cash illegal" in The Sunday Telegraph on 13 May 2001.

Ross Finnie: We have implemented a strict disease control strategy which has involved culling where necessary to contain the spread of the disease. Culling has been carried out for disease control purposes only and for no other reason.

Gaelic

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Registrar General for Scotland will publish figures from this year’s Census on the number of Gaelic speakers in Scotland.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Registrar General for Scotland plans to publish detailed Census results, including counts of Gaelic speakers, by the end of March 2003.

Health

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all Scots have equal access to the national health service.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Health Plan reiterates our commitment to the founding principle of the NHS - that access to care should be based on need, not on ability to pay.

  But inequalities in access can occur for many reasons, such as social exclusion and variations in service provision. The Scottish Health Plan provides a comprehensive programme for tackling the root causes of inequalities in health and introducing national priorities and standards which the NHS is expected to meet.

Hospitals

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which health trusts source patient meals from outwith Scotland, specifying in each case the amount spent on such meals on 2000-01 and the proportion of the total budget for patient meals which this figure represents.

Susan Deacon: This information is not held centrally.

Justice

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the way in which procurator fiscals’ offices communicate with prosecution witnesses.

Neil Davidson QC: Yes. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is piloting its Victim Liaison arrangements in Aberdeen and Hamilton. The VLO will operate in every region by next spring. The full roll out of the service will take account of what is learned from the pilots.

  In addition, consideration is being given to communication with vulnerable prosecution witnesses, i.e. witnesses who may not be victims, such as children.

  We recognise that citation to give evidence as a prosecution witness is a significant disruption for members of the public, and are examining arrangements for citation and reviewing targets. We attach importance to giving prosecution witnesses good, early information. This includes information about the availability of the volunteer Witness Service in sheriff courts as the service is rolled out nationally.

  We are working with the Justice Department and others to pilot its system, using the ISCJIS platform, to provide victims who elect to receive it with automated case progress information, from the point where the case is referred to the procurator fiscal to the outcome of court proceedings. We will contribute to the Justice Department consultation on procedures for victims.

Justice

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) how many local authorities operate public drinking restriction zones and (b) how many times the police have been recorded as intervening following a breach of the restrictions that apply in such zones and how many successful prosecutions from such interventions have there been since the zones were first established, broken down by local authority area.

Mr Jim Wallace: 27 local authorities in Scotland have made byelaws to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in designated areas. Relevant data on contraventions of these byelaws is in the table.

  Contraventions of byelaws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public places, number of offences recorded by the police and number of persons with charge proved

  

 
Council area1 
 
Offences recorded by the police2 
 
Persons with a charge proved3 


 1990-95 
  
 1996 
  
 1997 
  
 1998 
  
 1999 
  
 2000 
  
 1990-95 
  
 1996 
  
 1997 
  
 1998 
  
 1999 
  


 SCOTLAND 
  
 1,503 
  
 5,003 
  
 9,467 
  
 9,637 
  
 8,061 
  
 10,590 
  
 115 
 560 
 1,725 
  
 1,927 
  
 1,308 
  


 Aberdeen 
City 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Aberdeenshire 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Angus 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 12 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Argyll 
& Bute 
 - 
 - 
 66 
 104 
 92 
 191 
 - 
 - 
 7 
 31 
 24 


 Clackmannanshire 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 90 
 14 
 60 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Dumfries 
& Galloway 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 3 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Dundee 
City 
 180 
 32 
 34 
 34 
 101 
 111 
 75 
 2 
 21 
 14 
 11 


 East 
Ayrshire 
 - 
 - 
 227 
 273 
 266 
 207 
 - 
 - 
 7 
 37 
 32 


 East 
Dunbartonshire 
 - 
 25 
 156 
 162 
 115 
 227 
 - 
 1 
 9 
 4 
 10 


 East 
Lothian 
 - 
 - 
 5 
 4 
 3 
 3 
 - 
 - 
 1 
 2 
 - 


 East 
Renfrewshire 
 - 
 -

 -

 114 
 46 
 156 
 - 
 -

 -

 18 
 8 


 Edinburgh, 
City of 
 41 
 1 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Eilean 
Siar 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 73 
 32 
 15 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Falkirk 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 153 
 130 
 149 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 5 


 Fife 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 121 
 134 
 253 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 8 
 17 


 Glasgow 
City 
 1 
 1,692 
  
 4,884 
  
 3,818 
  
 3,355 
  
 5,359 
  
 - 
 2 
 815 
 674 
 386 


 Highland 
  
 - 
 23 
 43 
 20 
 10 
 12 
 - 
 - 
 6 
 6 
 2 


 Inverclyde 
  
 - 
 473 
 603 
 590 
 538 
 256 
 - 
 90 
 199 
 199 
 166 


 Midlothian 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 9 
 19 
 11 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 2 
 2 


 Moray 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 18 
 16 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 9 
 3 


 North 
Ayrshire 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 343 
 264 
 182 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 19 
 65 


 North 
Lanarkshire 
 998 
 1,423 
  
 1,131 
  
 1,622 
  
 916 
 947 
 17 
 150 
 306 
 357 
 253 


 Orkney 
Islands 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Perth 
& Kinross 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 10 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 4 
 16 


 Renfrewshire 
  
 - 
 25 
 192 
 381 
 403 
 319 
 - 
 - 
 9 
 75 
 60 


 Scottish 
Borders 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 1 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 Shetland 
Islands 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 


 South 
Ayrshire 
 - 
 - 
 1 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 1 
 - 


 South 
Lanarkshire 
 283 
 1,308 
  
 2,097 
  
 1,388 
  
 1,387 
  
 1,737 
  
 22 
 315 
 345 
 455 
 205 


 Stirling 
  
 - 
 - 
 - 
 41 
 36 
 162 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 2 


 West 
Dunbartonshire 
 - 
 1 
 - 
 211 
 152 
 167 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 8 
 33 


 West 
Lothian 
 - 
 - 
 28 
 68 
 32 
 41 
 - 
 - 
 - 
 4 
 8 



  Notes:

  1. Data for the period prior to local government reorganisation in April 19996 have been mapped to the current council areas.

  2. Number of offences recorded by the police in each year.

  3. Number of persons with a charge proved (main offence), by year of sentence. Data for 2000 are not yet available.

  The figures given in the answer on the number of offences recorded by the police have been extracted from the statistical returns on recorded crime made by police forces to SEJD. The convictions data are based on data held on the SEJD Court Proceedings Database.

  The statistics dealing with court proceedings and with recorded crime are not directly comparable for a number of reasons. A person may be proceeded against for more than one offence and it is also possible that the offence recorded by the police may be altered as a result of the judicial proceedings. If more than one offence is prosecuted in the same proceedings, the one receiving the most severe penalty is counted. The recorded crime statistics relate to the year in which the police recorded the offence; the convictions data relate to the year of sentence.

Landfill

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Greengairs is included in the current Small Area Health Statistics Unit study into possible health effects of landfill sites.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) study is a statistical study looking at overall health outcomes in populations living near landfill sites in Great Britain. It will not report on individual sites. SEPA have provided data to SAHSU on all known landfill sites in Scotland, including Greengairs.

Museums

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received and what response it has made or plans to make on the amended terms and conditions for gallery attendants at the National Museums of Scotland.

Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received and what response it has made or plans to make on the proposal for a flexible retirement policy for staff at the National Museums of Scotland.

Allan Wilson: None. Under the terms of the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, the terms and conditions of employment of the staff of the National Museums of Scotland are determined by the Board of Trustees.

NHS Staff

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to allow health boards to vary the remuneration rates for key NHS staff in order to attract and retain them.

Susan Deacon: Provisions already exist to allow health boards to vary remuneration rates.

Planning

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its planning policy is in relation to out-of-town retail and leisure developments.

Lewis Macdonald: The information requested is set out in National Planning Policy Guideline 8: Town Centres and Retailing. A copy of this is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 1081).

Population

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any increase in the birth rate is anticipated at the end of 2001 as is predicted in Wales and, if so, what resources will be made available for the recruitment of necessary NHS staff.

Susan Deacon: The number of births registered in Scotland has been declining over the last decade. The Registrar General’s most recent population projections were based on data to the end of 1998 and indicated a small continuing fall in the number of births over the period to 2007-08. The actual number of births since 1998 has been lower than projected.

Pre-School Education

Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pre-school education places for (a) three-year-olds and (b) four-year-olds are now available in each parliamentary constituency in Glasgow, specifying in each case the number of places in local authority managed establishments and the number provided through partnership arrangements.

Nicol Stephen: Data on pre-school education places on a constituency basis is not held centrally.

  The number and percentages of children receiving publicly funded pre-school education in the City of Glasgow in the summer term of 2000-01 are as follows:

  Four-year-olds: 6,354 (100%), of which 5,256 are in local authority centres and 1,098 with partner providers.

  Three-year-olds: 5,513 (76.3%), of which 4,076 are in local authority centres and 1,437 with partner providers.

Renewable Energy

Mr David Davidson (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why hydro-electric power schemes generating over 10 megawatts are not classed as renewable while less powerful ones are.

Rhona Brankin: Hydro-electric schemes with an installed capacity of 10 megawatts or more are classed as renewable. We fully expect output from such schemes to continue to make a very significant contribution towards our targets for renewable electricity generation.

School Meals

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines are issued with regard to the quality of school meals.

Mr Jack McConnell: Local authorities are responsible for school meal provision and content. To assist them with this, Model Nutritional Guidelines for Catering Specifications for the Public Sector in Scotland , were published in 1996.

Schools

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 removed, or the draft Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill is intended to remove, any remaining provisions in the Schools Sites Act 1841 which require education authorities to restore to feudal superiors land granted under that Act for school buildings once the schools in question have closed down and educational uses have ceased.

Iain Gray: The Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 did not make any provision regarding the School Sites Act 1841. The draft Title Conditions (Scotland) Bill, as prepared by the Scottish Law Commission, does contain proposals for reversions created under the 1841 Act. Although the law is unclear, the accepted position appears to be that the reversion holder is entitled to the entire property when the site is no longer used for educational purposes. The Commission propose that where there is a valid claim, the claimant would not be entitled to the value of any improvements that have been carried out on the property. Where the land is still in possession of the local authority, and has ceased to be used as a school, the holder of the reversion could elect to receive either compensation for the value of the site or a conveyance of the land, after paying the authority a sum to reflect improvement value. Where a third party has purchased the property, the education authority, not the third party, would pay the compensation. This would protect third party purchasers.

  These proposals are subject to the outcome of the consultation exercise for the draft Bill, which was announced in the answer to question S1W-15380 on 1 May 2001.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-14972 and S1W-14973 by Mr Jack McConnell on 1 May 2001, whether it intends to ensure that the information to be provided by the Chairman of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to Mr Brian Monteith will be made available to all MSPs and how it intends to make this information accessible to interested parties other than MSPs.

Mr Jack McConnell: As my answer to questions S1W-14972 and S1W-14973 noted the subject of those questions were matters for the Scottish Qualification Authority. Accordingly, I have asked the Chair to write to Mr Monteith, who asked the questions. That correspondence is a matter between the Chair and Mr Monteith. However, I will advise the Chair of Mr Tosh’s interest in these matters.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-15005, S1W-15006, S1W-15009, S1W-15010, S1W-15011, S1W-15012, S1W-15013, S1W-15014, S1W-15015 and S1W-15016 by Mr Jack McConnell on 2 May 2001, whether it intends to ensure that the information to be provided by the Chairman of the Scottish Qualifications Authority to Michael Russell will be made available to all MSPs and how it intends to make this information available to interested parties other than MSPs.

Mr Jack McConnell: As my answers to questions S1W-15005, S1W-15006, S1W-15009, S1W-15010, S1W–15011, S1W-15012, S1W-15013, S1W–15014, S1W-15015 and S1W-15016 noted the subject of those questions were matters for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Accordingly, I have asked the Chair to write to Mr Russell, who asked the questions. That correspondence is a matter between the Chair and Mr Russell. However, I will advise the Chair of Mr Tosh’s interest in these matters.

Social Inclusion

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the First Minister what progress the Scottish Executive is making in ensuring that fewer people in Scotland are excluded from the financial and banking systems.

Henry McLeish: We are progressing a far-reaching package of measures to tackle financial exclusion—13% of Scots currently have no financial products. We launched an Action Plan for the credit union movement in March, backed by £1.5 million and announced a pilot telephone debtline. Working with local authorities and the banks, we are promoting basic bank accounts and insurance products.

Teacher Training

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that sufficient placements are available in academic session 2001-02 and, in particular, during their second year of probation in 2002-03, for students graduating from teacher training courses this year, given that students graduating in 2002 will be guaranteed a placement for their one probation year.

Mr Jack McConnell: Following the 21st Century Teaching Profession agreement reached in January 2001, arrangements are now in hand to establish an Induction Implementation Group to take forward the many logistical, development and administrative issues surrounding the implementation of the new teachers’ probation arrangements. This group will consider the transitional arrangements for those people who are currently provisionally registered as well as those who are placed on the provisional register this year.

Tourism

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to provide direct assistance to visitor attractions suffering from a downturn in tourism.

Mr Alasdair Morrison: Assistance has already been provided by way of the emergency relief package announced on 28 March.